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Still waiting on Corps approval

The “Friends of Crooked Creek” has voiced its opposition to building a new boat ramp on Crooked Creek.

Andrew Wardlow | News Herald file photo

By MATTHEW BEATON | The News Herald

Published: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 at 07:24 PM.

WEST BAY — The county has received the first of two permits it needs to build a boat ramp on Crooked Creek.

The Bay County Commission approved the boat ramp last winter despite strong opposition from a group called “Friends of Crooked Creek.”

The state-level environmental permit was issued July 10 from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

The county now is waiting on a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit, which should follow shortly. It’s standard for the Corps to wait for the state to issue a permit first, county officials said.

The county plans to build the boat ramp in phases, with part of the work being bid out and part being done in-house.

Last winter and as recently as last week, the ramp’s cost was estimated at $475,000, but that cost projection has fallen. Now the portion that would be bid out — which includes the ramp itself, dirt work and a small dock — is estimated to cost $450,000. The county has no cost estimate on the portion that would be built in-house, which includes the fishing pier and a gravel parking lot.

The in-house cost would be “minimal” compared to the portion bid out, said Ken Schnell, county public works director. The projected cost for the bidded-out portion is at the “top of the scale,” he added.

WEST BAY — The county has received the first of two permits it needs to build a boat ramp on Crooked Creek.

The Bay County Commission approved the boat ramp last winter despite strong opposition from a group called “Friends of Crooked Creek.”

The state-level environmental permit was issued July 10 from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

The county now is waiting on a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit, which should follow shortly. It’s standard for the Corps to wait for the state to issue a permit first, county officials said.

The county plans to build the boat ramp in phases, with part of the work being bid out and part being done in-house.

Last winter and as recently as last week, the ramp’s cost was estimated at $475,000, but that cost projection has fallen. Now the portion that would be bid out — which includes the ramp itself, dirt work and a small dock — is estimated to cost $450,000. The county has no cost estimate on the portion that would be built in-house, which includes the fishing pier and a gravel parking lot.

The in-house cost would be “minimal” compared to the portion bid out, said Ken Schnell, county public works director. The projected cost for the bidded-out portion is at the “top of the scale,” he added.

“I anticipate the cost being less than $450,000,” he said.

Josee Cyr, an engineer with the county, said the Corps permit likely would arrive in about a week. Then the county will set up the bidding process. The low bid contract likely would go before the County Commission in November for approval, Schnell said. If approved, the work would start in January.

That first bidded-out portion would be finished in six months, Schnell said. The county in-house portion likely would be completed in about three months.

Since surveying the property, the county has made minor adjustments to the boat ramp’s exact location, but it’s only about 10 feet from the original site, Cyr said. “We did tweak it quite a few times,” she said.

Essentially, the ramp was shifted at an angle to make it less perpendicular to the creek. The location also would include two retention ponds, which would be connected, on either side of the boat ramp.

The parking lot would be handicap accessible, as would the fishing pier, Cyr said. The ramp itself, however, would be too steep to be considered handicap accessible.

“I think it’s going to be a great project; it’s going to be a great improvement,” Cyr said.

Group still opposed

Friends of Crooked Creek still are opposed to the project and aren’t ready to concede the fight.

“Getting the DEP permit is just the first step,” said Barbara Gudgel, the group’s leader, noting the Corps permit has not been handed down.

Gudgel said this isn’t a typical boat ramp project and said the permit is detailed and restrictive. She noted if any Native American artifacts are found on the site during construction, all work must stop.

Gudgel stressed the project isn’t certain to move forward, pointing out it depends on the price tag and the County Commission’s approval.

“You’re talking about a very costly project,” she said, guessing it would total at least $950,000.

The county has said it plans to pay for the project with the boater improvement fund and park impact fees, which are restricted monies.

The boat ramp’s biggest proponent on the County Commission is confident it will be approved.

“We’ve been over this three or four years, and I think everybody is pretty comfortable with it,” said Commissioner Mike Thomas.

Thomas also thinks receiving the DEP permit should satisfy concerns that the boat ramp would be harmful for the creek and the ecosystem.

“… [B]efore they approve it, they make sure that we will do something to prevent the runoff and that we don’t have sediment going down in there from the park,” he said. “The present ramp has none of those solutions incorporated in it. Everything that drains there runs directly into the water.”